Silver Linings
by Zellarest
Summary: Sacrifices are not for the weak. Astoria had never been weak until Teddy Lupin had beguiled her. "And in the worst of storms there are silver linings delineating the clouds from the darkness." / Cross-gen. AU. For the QLFC.


4. Every cloud has a silver lining.

12. She Keeps Me Warm, Mary Lambert

13. Mysteriously silent

Written for Round 7 of the Quidditch League as Chaser 3 for the Chudley Cannons using the prompts _every cloud has a silver lining_, _She Keeps Me Warm, Mary Lambert_, and _mysteriously silent_.

Also written for the Doctor Who Appreciation Competition using the prompt: _Astrid Peth: write about sacrifice._

Warnings: cross-gen, AU since Astoria never married Draco.

Enjoy and leave a review if you have the time! Constructive or whatever; they never fail to make my day.

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Bellowing wind whipped harshly at the already rain-soaked clothes and dripping hair. Thunder crashed and a white-blue light illuminated the furious and pitiful expressions painted on the faces of two battling lovers. The words screamed at the top of lungs, turning throats raw and mouths dry, were swiftly lost in the wind. No sound reached their ears besides the sky ripping itself apart like the words they spoke in earnest fury tearing and clawing at their hearts.

At once, they both grew sick to their stomachs of this fruitless rage and share one last look saturated with blind, undiluted hatred and turned swiftly on their heels. The young man, so usually calm and level-headed, took off down the way leading to the nearby village. The young lady, so easily blinded by the hatred she so passionately despised, strode off into toward the house that towered above the ground. The slam of the door was quickly smothered by the roar of the wind and pounding of the rain drops against a cold, hard ground.

.,.,.

Astoria was no fool. Little escaped her notice. Not a word, a surreptitious glance cast in her direction only to quickly dart away upon looking up, nor an empty smile that didn't reach the blue-green eyes.

The naive boy thought that his efforts were, at the least, commendable. Astoria thought them contemptible. Teddy believed her a daft woman uncapable of seeing past the wall of apathy he drew up around himself. What he didn't know was that it retained the qualities of saran wrap; being transparent and paper-thin.

It was one of those midsummer days where he would come back in one of his moods. Bold obscenities swathed in awful hatred fell from cut lips. Tears welled in the corners of blackened eyes. With a meticulously composed expression Astoria led him to the couch. Soothing assurances and consoling words only worked to harden the blind anger. Only apathetic murmurs cloaked in the colors of understanding and sympathy followed the spat remarks.

In the blink of an eye tea was pushed into his hands. Laced with a draft made by her own skillful hand, in not minutes would the boy be murmuring listlessly in her lap while she worked her fingers through his soft, teal blue locks. The sudden silence seemed unsettling and eerily mysterious to Astoria the first few times attempting to quiet the boy, but soon she grew fond of the heartbeat against her fingers, the soft pink glow to his cheeks. It was this time that Astoria took to memorize every last inch of him from the curve of his eyebrows to the dents in his cheeks and the freckles dotted across his shoulders.

Astoria liked him better this way; peaceful, resting in her arms like the most untroubled of children. A harsh contrast to the Teddy who would come home after his monthly visits with the bubbly little boy. Astoria had no personal connection with the boy, but Teddy's vivid descriptions and wonderful stories he would tell when troubles with the mother didn't get in the way. Which happened once in a blue moon.

With a distinct and deliberate slowness, Astoria placed the flowery teacup on the saucer. Not the slightest clatter accompanied the action. Her hand settled on the area above Teddy's heart. While listening to the steady _tha-thump, tha-thump _she resigned herself to the decision made all too long before then.

The fragile boy would have to broken. Soon.

.,.,.

Morning sunshine in all of its pale yellow glory fell through the open window, giving light to dust settled into corners and gathered between books stacked high. Various articles of clothing were strewn across the polished hardwood, having been discarded recklessly the night before. In the sheets and bed covers spilling over the edge Teddy dozed.

With lingering doubt about her decision, Astoria watched the child sleep. Observed the golden glow of the locks that fell into his face, the serenity of slumber expressed in the softness of his lips and relaxation of his jaw and eyebrows that took years off of him. In this state, he truly appeared to be a young man of only twenty. Loved by a woman nearly two decades older than himself.

It was only with the onslaught of these thoughts and those similar that Astoria could resolve herself to break him. Therefore breaking herself in the process, though that was one thought she managed to bar from her mind.

After a few moments of whispered reassurances and pledges that wiped away any remaining uncertainty Astoria found herself under the spotlight of Teddy's gaze.

After a few moments of thought and observance, the two sometimes walking hand in hand, Astoria found herself under the spotlight of Teddy's drowsy gaze.

"Good morning," she bid.

The response came after a moment of tired silence and was expected. "What're you doing?"

Curt and sharp was her reponse. "There is something we need to speak of when you find yourself awake and decent."

He only nodded numbly as Astoria turned on her heel and stalked off into their dingy kitchen.

.,.,.

A high-pitched squeal disrupted the previously still air as a result of the metal legs supporting the highly uncomfortable chair scraping against the cheap tile laid down on the kitchen floor. Taking his merry time Teddy settled down at the small, ovular table situated in the center of the room and mere feet from the squat fridge squeezed between the sink and the wall. Astoria shot a questioning glance in his direction. He just shrugged nonchalantly.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about? Is it Leo? Because Victoire has been on my case about visiting him too often for ages."

"It isn't about Leo." A brittle smile rose to the surface. "Though I do wish to speak to you about something important."

Teddy drew his lips into a tight line, all of the muscles in his arms and jaw pulled taut. Tension radiated from him, whereas Astoria remained impeccably impassive. "All right. I'm listening."

"You have to promise me you won't make a fuss," she instructed sternly. "This has been a long time coming."

"What? You make it sound like I'm some imprudent child. Astoria, what are you talking about?"

"I believe it is time that we bring an end to our improper relationship."

A silence worth a thousand words occured. Shades of all different colors were donned by Teddy's hair; crimson red, then a rich magenta, followed by pungent violet, all topped off with a sickly green.

Meaningless, unconnected words tumbled from Teddy's lips before he was able to string together any two that coincided. "What no... how could... no! Astoria... you're obviously not thinking clearly."

The carefully composed expression cracked with the small laugh that hinted at histeria. As though she had taken a hearty swig of Alihotsy Draught. "Oh, love... if only you knew for how long I have delayed this."

He flinched back from her, despite the fact that she had made no type of threatening movement. Betrayal glinted in the depths of the kaleidoscope eyes boring into her own dark brown ones. His hand gripped the lemon-yellow seat of the chair and his lower lip trembled. However, his words came out surprisingly firm. "I won't let you do this."

Astoria smiled weakly, noting the confused knitting of the boy's eyebrows. "There is nothing to do, it has already been done."

"No. Don't say that." The shifting eyes glistened. "I love you."

She snorted slightly in derisively. "How could you possibly know love? The feeling of lust, longing, that isn't love."

Within a split second the saddened expression turned hard and stiff though his tone was one of wonder. "Love is the soaring of your heart, the butterflies in your stomach, the smile every time I see you. Valuing you over my life, Astoria. _That _is love."

Stringy locks of mahogany trembled with the disdainful shaking of her head. "Foolish love," she whispered.

"Fine," he conceded. "If this is your wish, I have no choice but to accept it."

Astoria nodded tersely, unable to trust herself with words. Teddy took one last, lingering look. She returned only coldness in her icy stare. _All part of the act_, she assured herself. Teddy turned away with his jaw set. _Sacrifices are to be made if he is to be happy_, the reminder nagged at her. Teddy turned the rusty doorknob. _From all pain comes knowledge_, her mother recited from a dusty old book from centuries ago. The door opened with a squealing creak. _And in the worst of storms there are silver linings delineating the clouds from the darkness_.

The door slammed shut.


End file.
